Wolfe Research initiated Discovery with an Outperform and $37 price target.

12/06/18

12/06/18UPGRADETarget $27Hold

Discovery upgraded to Hold with unchanged $27 price target at Pivotal Research

As previously reported, Pivotal Research analyst Brian Wieser upgraded Discovery to Hold from Sell with the stock now trading close to his $27 price target and the company having revised its Q4 guidance. His talks with national TV buyers has him convinced that there may have been unrealistic expectations with respect to how much revenue the combined Scripps and Discovery might be able to realize, said Weiser, though he noted that Discovery Communications' CEO reduced expectations for Q4 advertising growth at an investor conference earlier this week citing ratings weakness at the flagship network.

12/06/18

PIVT

12/06/18UPGRADEPIVTHold

Discovery upgraded to Hold from Sell at Pivotal Research

12/04/18

LEHM

12/04/18NO CHANGETarget $27LEHMEqual Weight

Discovery guided down U.S. advertising yesterday, says Barclays

Barclays analyst Kannan Venkateshwar says Discovery at a conference yesterday walked back its Q4 U.S. advertising growth guidance due to weaker ratings. The guidance was reduced to 2%-3% growth from 3%-5%. Discovery is now the most ad-exposed name in U.S. media, deriving 60% of U.S. revenues from advertising, and given broader secular challenges across the sector, the impact on multiples is understandable, Venkateshwar tells investors in a research note after the stock dropped 8% yesterday to $28.20. While the company expects the weakness in advertising to be offset by a slightly better pace of affiliate fee growth, the overall pace of U.S. sales growth in Q4 will be 1.3%, among the lowest in the industry, adds the analyst. He keeps an Equal Weight rating on Discovery shares.

Morgan Stanley analyst Benjamin Swinburne said the court approval of AT&T's (T) acquisition of Time Warner (TWX) without conditions recognized the reality of new competition in the form of content investments from players such as Netflix (NFLX), Google's (GOOGL) YouTube, Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL) and Facebook (FB). This ruling sends a "clear message to other industry players" and market uncertainty on deal prospects could fall, which could mean that equity values will likely rise accordingly, Swinburne tells investors. He notes there remains a large gap, which may now narrow, between private market valuations and public multiples in many parts of media and cable, pointing to Discovery Inc. (DISCK) as an example illustrating that point.

As previously reported, Morgan Stanley analyst Simon Flannery downgraded Verizon to Equal Weight from Overweight, as he contends that the stock's 11% year-to-date advance prices in the company's good news, including its $4B free cash flow improvement this year. While Verizon has actively marketed itself as the first carrier to 5G, this may spur higher spending than currently estimated by consensus, said Flannery. He believes carriers could spend up to $40B on wireless spectrum over the next three years, with Verizon alone spending up to $18B, the analyst added. Additionally, he sees risk of an increased competitive environment. Flannery maintains a $58 price target on Verizon shares.

Tigress Financial analyst Ivan Feinseth reiterated a Neutral rating on Verizon, noting that the long-term opportunity of its 5G rollout, which it continues to invest in upgrading and expanding, is offset by "headwinds of a highly saturated and competitive market," as well as an ongoing decline in Verizon Fios subscribers. Feinseth does believe, however, that Verizon's above-average dividend and size advantage could provide an "attractive investment opportunity at some point in the near future."

01/08/19

SBSH

01/08/19NO CHANGESBSH

Verizon's 'strong' Q4 net adds bode well for sales growth, says Citi

Citi analyst Michael Rollins says Verizon's "strong" postpaid phone net additions for Q4 in a measured promotional environment bode well for the company's sales growth and cash flow as well as the broader wireless category. The analyst remains a buyer of Verizon shares as he sees further upside from better wireless performance, cost cutting and 5G.

12/12/18

12/12/18DOWNGRADE

On The Fly: Top five analyst downgrades

Catch up on today's top five analyst downgrades with this list compiled by The Fly: 1. eBay (EBAY) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley with analyst Brian Nowak saying he had been wrong in his prior view about how quickly core marketplaces would deteriorate. 2. Bank of America (BAC) and Morgan Stanley (MS) were downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Keefe Bruyette. 3. Mosaic (MOS) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan with analyst Jeffrey Zekauskas saying there are signs of increased phosphate exports from China, which have the potential to loosen the supply/demand balance in phosphate in 2019, leading to a weaker phosphate price dynamic. 4. Verizon (VZ) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley with analyst Simon Flannery saying he contends that the stock's 11% year-to-date advance prices in the company's good news, including its $4B free cash flow improvement this year. 5. Fluor (FLR) downgraded to Buy from Conviction Buy at Goldman Sachs with analyst Jerry Revich saying Fluor management noted that it was underbid on a major U.S. liquefied natural gas project that the analyst expected to be a catalyst in 2019. This list is just a portion of The Fly's full analyst coverage. To see The Fly's full Street Research coverage, click here.

Morgan Stanley analyst Simon Flannery said he expects AT&T to raise its quarterly dividend by 1c to 51c from 50c per share as early as this Friday, which would be in-line with its timing last year. He would view such an increase, which would not be that notable normally but takes on added significance due to the company's high leverage and desire to delever, as a signal of confidence in the recent 2019 business and financial outlook, Flannery tells investors. He maintains an Overweight rating and $37 price target on AT&T shares.

12/11/18

SBSH

12/11/18UPGRADETarget $34SBSHBuy

Citi upgrades AT&T to Buy with shares down 23% year-to-date

Citi analyst Michael Rollins upgraded AT&T to Buy from Neutral with an unchanged price target of $34. The stock closed yesterday down 24c to $29.91. The analyst expects AT&T to further benefit from the "measured" promotional environment in wireless, while improving its competitive position from FirstNet and the marketing of its network enhancements, branded 5G Evolution. Further, the company has "several levers" to manage free cash flow and support its net debt deleveraging goals for 2019, Rollins tells investors in a research note. In addition, the analyst believes the stock's 23% decline year-to-date provides a better risk/reward scenario. AT&T trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of about eight times the analyst's revised 2019 outlook and at a dividend yield of about 6.7%. He sees a buying opportunity at current share levels.

12/11/18

12/11/18UPGRADE

On The Fly: Top five analyst upgrades

Catch up on today's top five analyst upgrades with this list compiled by The Fly: 1. AT&T (T) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citi with analyst Michael Rollins saying he expects AT&T to further benefit from the "measured" promotional environment in wireless, while improving its competitive position from FirstNet and the marketing of its network enhancements, branded 5G Evolution. 2. Sanofi (SNY) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies with analyst Peter Welford saying he believes European large-cap pharmaceuticals are entering a period of sustained earnings momentum which should justify valuations above the historic average for the sector. 3. Total (TOT) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill. 4. Zynga (ZNGA) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Macquarie. 5. Allstate (ALL) upgraded to Hold from Sell at Edward Jones. This list is just a portion of The Fly's full analyst coverage. To see The Fly's full Street Research coverage, click here.

After meeting with some of her regulatory contacts in DC, Wells Fargo analyst Jennifer Fritzsche said her checks indicate that the regulatory review for T-Mobile's (TMUS) planned merger with Sprint (S) "remains fairly drama free thus far." The FCC review appears to be continuing to proceed as expected, while most contacts she spoke with indicated there does not seem to be any "chatter" coming out of DOJ, Fritzsche tells investors. Following the talks, she is increasing her view of the odds of the deal closing to 65%-70%. Fritzsche has an Outperform rating on T-Mobile and Market Perform rating on Sprint.

09/25/18

OPCO

09/25/18NO CHANGETarget $24OPCOOutperform

CenturyLink CFO departure raises concerns, says Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer analyst Timothy Horan notes CenturyLink (CTL) has announced that CFO Sunit Patel will depart as of September 28th to join T-Mobile (TMUS) to lead the Sprint (S)/T-Mobile merger and integration efforts. The analyst expects weakness in CenturyLink's stock, as investors will likely be concerned with synergy realization after Patel's departure. While Horan says his departure is disappointing, he believes CenturyLink has a deep management bench, and Jeff Storey, CEO, will continue to be the driving force behind restructuring and expense reductions at the company. He reiterates an Outperform rating and $24 price target on the shares.

10/15/18

CHLM

10/15/18INITIATIONTarget $62CHLMBuy

pdvWireless initiated with a Buy at Craig-Hallum

Craig-Hallum analyst George Sutton started pdvWireless (PDVW) with a Buy rating and $62 price target. The analyst believes upcoming FCC action is set to "dramatically" increase the value o its spectrum assets. Sutton notes that in 2014 the company made a $100M bet, namely they acquired largely dormant 900 MHz spectrum assets from Sprint (S). Following years of behind the scenes actions by pdvWireless, this bet is finally set to pay off in a big way because the FCC appears ready to reallocate a portion of the 900 MHz band from narrow-band to broadband use, he contends.

09/13/18

RILY

09/13/18INITIATIONTarget $46RILYBuy

Shenandoah initiated with a Buy at B. Riley FBR

B. Riley FBR analyst Zack Silver started Shenandoah Telecommunications (SHEN) with a Buy rating and $46 price target. The analyst sees the company benefiting from the merger between Sprint (S) and T-Mobile (TMUS).

LEAFLeaf Group

$8.05

0.34 (4.41%)

09/14/18

COWN

09/14/18INITIATIONTarget $14COWNOutperform

Leaf Group initiated with an Outperform at Cowen

Cowen analyst Thomas Champion initiated Leaf Group with an Outperform rating as he believes future growth looks sustainable with revenues set to grow 17% annually over the next five years. He believes EBITDA should rise as well and said the growth opportunity looks under-appreciated by consensus. Champion has a $14 price target on Leaf Group shares.

EROSEros International

$9.29

0.21 (2.31%)

08/14/18

SBSH

08/14/18INITIATIONTarget $16SBSHBuy

Eros International initiated with a Buy at Citi

Citi analyst Jason Bazinet started Eros International with a Buy rating and $16 price target. The company should benefit from a growing Indian media and wireless market, Bazinet tells investors in a research note.

CCICrown Castle

$107.46

-1.12 (-1.03%)

12/12/18

12/12/18DOWNGRADETarget $170Equal Weight

American Tower downgraded to Equal Weight after outperformance at Morgan Stanley

As previously reported, Morgan Stanley analyst Simon Flannery downgraded American Tower (AMT) to Equal Weight from Overweight, citing the stock's strong relative performance in 2018 compared to peers. While he remains supportive of the Tower companies overall, Flannery believes American Tower has a slightly more difficult set-up with strong domestic growth more priced in. He maintains a $170 price target on the shares. Flannery keeps Overweight ratings on SBA Communications (SBAC) and Crown Castle (CCI), stating that the Towers as a group have the best business model in his combined Telecom coverage due to their strong operating fundamentals, high barriers to entry and unique competitive characteristics.

12/12/18

WELS

12/12/18NO CHANGETarget $129WELSOutperform

Crown Castle price target raised to $129 from $123 at Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo analyst Jennifer Fritzsche raised her price target for Crown Castle to $129 from $123 after traveling with management. The analyst walked away from these meetings with increased conviction in the company's strategy and drivers of growth. Crown Castle is Fritzsche's top tower pick for 2019. She reiterates an Outperform rating on the shares.

Morgan Stanley analyst Simon Flannery said the firm's survey of 20 private tower owners points to solid leasing trends and robust demand, leading him to reiterate his Overweight ratings on American Tower (AMT) and SBA Communications (SBAC) ahead of them reporting earnings this week. Those surveyed expect momentum to continue, which he believes bodes well for second half organic growth acceleration into 2019, Flannery tells investors. He also has an Overweight rating on Crown Castle (CCI).

VGVonage

$9.15

0.175 (1.95%)

11/05/18

BARD

11/05/18NO CHANGETarget $15BARDOutperform

Vonage weakness a buying opportunity, says Baird

Baird analyst William Power said the weakness in Vonage following mixed Q3 results and guidance "noise" is a buying opportunity. He said the revenue was modestly below forecast due to foreign exchange, but he believes the core business trends and opportunities remain on track. Power reiterated his Outperform rating and $15 price target on Vonage shares.

01/03/19

SPHN

01/03/19INITIATIONTarget $14SPHNOverweight

Vonage initiated with an Overweight at Stephens

Stephens analyst Dmitry Netis initiated Vonage with an Overweight rating and $14 price target, citing his view that concerns about its dilutive acquisition of NewVoiceMedia, accounting modifications, and "far-from-perfect" execution are one-time items that appear transitory and have been reflected in the stock.

01/03/19

SPHN

01/03/19INITIATIONSPHNEqual Weight

Five9 initiated with an Equal Weight at Stephens

Stephens analyst Dmitry Netis started Five9 with an Equal Weight rating and $48 price target. The analyst sees a balanced risk/reward due to the stock's rich valuation and concerns around an increasingly competitive environment with aggressive new entrants like Twilio (TWLO) and Amazon (AMZN), and potentially Vonage (VG).

09/24/18

09/24/18INITIATION

On The Fly: Top five analyst initiations

Catch up on today's top five analyst initiations with this list compiled by The Fly: 1. Idera Pharmaceuticals (IDRA) initiated with an Overweight at Barclays. 2. Caesars (CZR) Entertainment initiated with a Sell at UBS. 3. GreenTree Hospitality (GHG) initiated with a Neutral at Goldman Sachs. 4. AMD (AMD) initiated with an Outperform at RBC Capital. 5. Vonage (VG) assumed with an Outperform at William Blair. This list is just a portion of The Fly's analyst coverage. To see The Fly's full Street Research coverage, click here.

ZZillow

$31.73

0.91 (2.95%)

12/21/18

SPHN

12/21/18NO CHANGETarget $43SPHNOverweight

Zillow's StreetEasy price hike a positive, says Stephens

Stephens analyst John Campbell said that he found a blog post, dated December 11, that shows Zillow intends to raise the price for a StreetEasy rental listing to $4.50 from $3 per day starting in January. He estimates this could drive about $9M in revenue assuming Zillow loses about 10%of listings, or as much as $15M should it continue to grow listings. While he still sees Zillow facing "a fair degree of margin compression next year," he thinks the StreetEasy price hike helps, noting the pure margin nature of the pricing push. Campbell, who views current weakness as a "great" buying opportunity, keeps an Overweight rating and $43 price target on Zillow Group shares. Reference Link

01/08/19

NEED

01/08/19INITIATIONNEEDHold

Zillow initiated with a Hold at Needham

Needham analyst Brad Erickson initiated Zillow with a Hold rating, saying the company needs to establish better visibility regarding its Premier Agent driven product. The analyst further notes that while the "down-funnel" strategy challenges are "misunderstood by the market", he prefers a better entry point on the stock in expectation of FY19 outlook being "tempered a bit".

12/19/18

ZELM

12/19/18NO CHANGEZELM

Zillow added as a Sell to Top Idea Basket at Zelman

11/26/18

STPT

11/26/18INITIATIONSTPTBuy

Zillow initiated with a Buy at Standpoint Research

Standpoint Research analyst Ronnie Moas started Zillow with a Buy rating.

ZGZillow

$31.81

0.82 (2.65%)

11/29/18

11/29/18UPGRADETarget $50Buy

Zillow upgraded to Buy at Craig-Hallum on Home segment opportunity

As previously reported, Craig-Hallum analyst Bradley Berning upgraded Zillow to Buy from Hold as new seller lead generation business could drive $1B revenue upside by 2021, which is too big to ignore. The analyst believes investors should focus on the out-year upsides and not 2019 EBITDA. Berning also raised his price target on the shares to $50 from $50 from $35.

11/29/18

CHLM

11/29/18UPGRADECHLMBuy

Zillow upgraded to Buy from Hold at Craig-Hallum

JBLJabil

$23.40

-0.71 (-2.94%)

12/19/18

RBCM

12/19/18NO CHANGETarget $30RBCM

Jabil price target raised to $30 from $29 at RBC Capital

RBC Capital analyst Amit Daryanani nudged his price target on Jabil to $30 rating after its "strong" Q1 results driven by a "combination of better than expected performance in both its DMS and EMS segments" and the upside in new business wins. The analyst also cites the company's raised FY19 revenue guidance forecast based on the management's expectations of "healthcare, packaging, automotive, 5G wireless and cloud contribute meaningfully" to its top line. Daryanani keeps his Sector Perform rating on Jabil, noting that its valuation is in line with its 10-year average trading multiple of 10-times forward 12-month earnings.

12/11/18

WOLF

12/11/18INITIATIONTarget $25WOLFPeer Perform

Jabil initiated with a Peer Perform at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research analyst Steven Milunovich started Jabil (JBL) with a Peer Perform rating and $25 price target, stating that although EMS names are moving up the value chain, he does not think "now is the time" for Jabil and Flex (FLEX).

11/27/18

SBSH

11/27/18NO CHANGETarget $24SBSHSell

Jabil price target lowered to $24 from $28 at Citi

Citi analyst Jim Suva lowered his price target for Jabil (JBL) to $24 and keeps a Sell rating on the shares. The analyst adjusted his valuation of the stock to reflect the recent market decline. His Sell thesis is based on revenue and margin pressure from incremental suppliers getting into the iPhone supply chain. Jabil's customer concentration with Apple (AAPL) gives the company limited bargaining power when demand slows down and/or when there is new competition in the supply chain, Suva tells investors in a research note.

12/11/18

WOLF

12/11/18INITIATIONTarget $9WOLFPeer Perform

Flex initiated with a Peer Perform at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research analyst Steven Milunovich started Flex (FLEX) with a Peer Perform rating and $9 price target, stating that although EMS names are moving up the value chain, he does not think "now is the time" for Flex and Jabil (JBL).

SIMOSilicon Motion

$33.33

-0.46 (-1.36%)

11/01/18

CHLM

11/01/18NO CHANGETarget $55CHLMBuy

Silicon Motion price target lowered to $55 from $60 at Craig-Hallum

Craig-Hallum analyst Anthony Stoss lowered his price target for Silicon Motion to $55 from $60 on lowered estimates. After several missteps in the company's Shannon Systems business/entrance into the Chinese market, it is finally set to pay off as Silicon is mere days away from passing the final qualifications needed to start initial production of its new Open-Channel SSD solution, he notes. He reiterates a Buy rating on the shares.

Silicon Motion should 'actively' use its new buyback program, says Needham

Needham analyst Rajvindra Gill kept his Buy rating and $58 price target on Silicon Motion, saying the company's new $200M stock buyback authorization is likely to be more actively used than last year's given the 24% decline in its shares thus far this month and a 39% decline year to date. The analyst believes that a full use of the program could add up to 67c to next year's earnings, adding that Silicon Motion is also currently trading at an attractive "trough" valuation of 7.3-times expected forward earnings.

UNITUniti Group

$17.81

-0.12 (-0.67%)

01/08/19

WELS

01/08/19DOWNGRADETarget $17WELSMarket Perform

Uniti Group downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo analyst Jennifer Fritzsche downgraded Uniti Group (UNIT) to Market Perform and lowered her price target for the shares to $17 from $23. The analyst is using the stock's 20% rally since December 26, 2018, to move to the sidelines. Fritzsche continues to favor Uniti's 13% dividend yield, however she has concerns over the company's leverage and its need for more investment in fiber. She also struggles to see how the company can fully diversify away from its reliance on Windstream (WIN).

07/18/18

SBSH

07/18/18DOWNGRADETarget $15SBSHSell

Uniti Group downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Citi

Citi analyst Michael Rollins downgraded Uniti Group (UNIT) to Sell and cut his price target for the shares to $15 from $15. Windstream's (WIN) operating and financial performance "pose substantial risk" to the equities of both Windstream and Uniti Group, Rollins tells investors in a research note. The analyst believes Uniti shares are "likely to incorporate a greater amount of risk regarding the long-term durability of Windstream's lease payments." Rollins this morning also downgraded Windstream to Sell with a $1 price target.

07/18/18

07/18/18DOWNGRADE

On The Fly: Top five analyst downgrades

Catch up on today's top five analyst downgrades with this list compiled by The Fly: 1. Twitter (TWTR) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Macquarie with analyst Benjamin Schachter citing concerns about MAU trends, what he views as a limited set of near-term catalysts and a valuation he believes will likely limit upside from current levels. 2. Clorox (CLX) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs with analyst Jason English citing a combination of a lower volume forecast, lower gross margin expectation and renewed currency headwinds. 3. Autoliv (ALV) and Visteon (VC) were downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wells Fargo. 4. Broadcom (AVGO) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs with analyst Toshiya Hari saying he sees increased uncertainty surrounding the company's "strategic focus going forward" following its acquisition of CA Technologies (CA). 5. Windstream (WIN) and Uniti Group (UNIT) were downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Citi. This list is just a portion of The Fly's full analyst coverage. To see The Fly's full Street Research coverage, click here.

12/12/18

MSCO

12/12/18DOWNGRADETarget $16MSCOUnderweight

Uniti Group downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley analyst Simon Flannery downgraded Uniti Group to Underweight from Equal Weight, stating that he doesn't have an issue with Uniti's strategy, but does have concerns about its capital structure and elevated cost of capital. Uniti's fiber and tower businesses are capital-intensive and the analyst thinks the company could cut its dividend to conserve cash and reduce leverage, rather than issue equity at current prices to pursue M&A. He lowered his price target on Uniti Group shares to $16 from $24, citing expectations that valuation could compress as the market becomes more cautious on Uniti's dividend and Windstream's EBITDAR.

OLEDUniversal Display

$87.23

2.69 (3.18%)

01/04/19

NEED

01/04/19NO CHANGETarget $105NEEDBuy

Universal Display price target lowered to $105 from $125 at Needham

Needham analyst James Ricchiuti lowered his price target on Universal Display to $105 amid "intensifying weakness" in the smartphone market. The analyst believes that consensus estimates for the company's Q4 earnings will move steadily lower until its reporting date in late February, adding that while Universal Display can still show "solid revenue growth" in 2019, it will likely "hinge heavily" on the strong growth in the OLED TV market. Richiuti keeps his Buy rating on the shares longer term, forecasting an "eventual replacement cycle within the large installed base of smartphones" in 2020.

Gabelli analyst Hendi Susanto downgraded Universal Display to Hold citing the company's weaker than expected Q3 material sales and "sharply lowered" 2018 revenue guidance. The analyst see weakness in material sales due to sales of emitter materials to Samsung for smartphone OLED displays. Susanto prefers to wait for capacity expansion in 2019 before getting more constructive on the shares.

11/02/18

NEED

11/02/18NO CHANGETarget $125NEEDBuy

Universal Display price target lowered to $125 from $145 at Needham

Needham analyst James Ricchiuti lowered his price target on Universal Display (OLED) to $125 after its Q3 results and implied guidance suggesting a sequential revenue decline in Q4 of up to 9%. The analyst cites the management's discussion of weaker recovery in materials revenue amid weakness in the smartphone market and the complications from ASC606 standard magnifying changes in the impact of license revenue by a customer such as Samsung (SSNLF). Ricchiuti keeps his Buy rating on Universal Display, saying that the expected decline in the stock price today will bring its risk-reward to "particularly attractive" levels based on the company's 2019 growth expectations.

Jefferies analyst Raj Denhoy raised his estimates for Teleflex (TFX) and Boston Scientific (BSX) after conducting a survey of 50 U.S.-based urologists to better understand demand and utilization trends for Teleflex's recently acquired UroLift and Boston Scientific's recently acquired Rezum System. He found that UroLift is 15% of procedure mix and expected to reach 25% in two years, and that current mix for Rezum is 10% and expected to be 20% in two years. UroLift taking share from all other modalities including drug therapy while Rezum is gaining share from surgery/ablation, Denhoy tells investors in a research note. The analyst increased his price target for Teleflex to $300 and for Boston Scientific to $45. He keeps Buy rating on both stocks.

11/01/18

PIPR

11/01/18NO CHANGETarget $310PIPROverweight

Teleflex price target raised to $310 from $295 at Piper Jaffray

Piper Jaffray analyst Matt O'Brien raised his price target on Teleflex to $310 and kept his Overweight rating while also increasing his FY18 EPS view to $9.90 from $9.83 after its Q3 earnings beat. The analyst notes that the company's organic growth of 5.6% was much stronger than expected, as the management also affirmed its 2018 organic growth forecast of 5.0%-5.5%. O'Brien expects Teleflex business to continue to deliver this year while its product flow for Percuvance & RePlas lifts the FY19 numbers, improving investor sentiment "markedly".

UBS analyst Matthew Taylor initiated Teleflex with a Buy rating and $310 price target, calling the stock a Top Buy for Growth/Momentum. Taylor said "We think investors should buy Teleflex ahead of improving revenue performance in 2019+ given acceleration from acquired products and the pipeline."

WWEWWE

$81.01

1.03 (1.29%)

12/07/18

WOLF

12/07/18INITIATIONTarget $95WOLFOutperform

WWE initiated with an Outperform at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research initiated WWE with an Outperform and $95 price target.

12/21/18

MKMP

12/21/18NO CHANGETarget $95MKMPBuy

MKM positive about WWE growth following management meeting

MKM Partners analyst Eric Handler said he came away from a recent management meeting with WWE feeling positive about its growth prospects over the next 5 years, noting that nothing has changed about management's view on a U.K. TV contract renewal announcement but their "body language seemed confident." Management also expressed confidence in its ability to increase its TV deal in India, according to Handler. He keeps a Buy rating and $95 price target on WWE shares.

12/21/18

12/21/18INITIATION

Fly Intel: Top five analyst initiations

Catch up on today's top five analyst initiations with this list compiled by The Fly: 1. NXP Semiconductors (NXPI) initiated with an Overweight at Piper Jaffray. 2. Biogen (BIIB) initiated with a Buy at BTIG. 3. Allena Pharmaceuticals (ALNA) assumed with a Buy at B. Riley FBR. 4. WWE (WWE) initiated with a Hold at Loop Capital. 5. Applied Materials (AMAT) initiated with a Buy at Needham. This list is just a portion of The Fly's analyst coverage. To see The Fly's full Street Research coverage, click here.

12/21/18

LOOP

12/21/18INITIATIONTarget $85LOOPHold

WWE initiated with a Hold at Loop Capital

Loop Capital analyst Alan Gould started WWE with a Hold rating and $85 price target. The shares have appreciated 141% this year, among the highest return of any other media or internet company, based on a "deserved re-rating" after successfully renewing its U.S. TV contracts for 3.6 times the prior deal amount, Gould tells investors in a research note. The analyst anticipates "strong renewals," but he believes the market may have underestimated how much will be reinvested back into the business.

HPEHP Enterprise

$13.79

-0.28 (-1.99%)

10/25/18

LOOP

10/25/18NO CHANGETarget $23LOOPBuy

HP Enterprise sees continued 'robust demand', says Loop Capital

Loop Capital analyst Ananda Baruah kept his Buy rating and $23 price target on HP Enterprise after its Analyst Day presentation. The analyst believes that the management's guidance for 2019 was "conservative" and also points to its expectations of "robust demand with no impact from macro concerns". Baruah further cites the company's view that tariff concerns are immaterial for its business, calling the stock an "enterprise beacon in a sea of concern".

10/23/18

SUSQ

10/23/18NO CHANGESUSQ

Susquehanna downgrades Enterprise Hardware sector on cloud downturn

Susquehanna analyst Mehdi Hosseini downgraded his sector view for Enterprise Hardware, stating that top executives at Cloud service providers and Enterprise customers appear to have become more cautious about 2019 spending plans and the "digestion period" he has been anticipating by YE18 and into 1H19 appears to have evolved into a more worrisome "downturn." In the sector, as previously reported, Hosseini downgraded NetApp (NTAP) to Neutral from Positive, stating that it is unclear how sizable HCI and Cloud will be to NetApp in the near-term, while the core business enters a period of tough comparisons. He is also maintaining his Negative rating on Nutanix (NTNX) and Neutral ratings on HP Enterprise (HPE) and Pure Storage (PSTG).

Loop Capital analyst Ananda Baruah kept his Buy rating and $23 price target on HP Enterprise after meeting with its Investor Relations director yesterday, saying the discussions suggested that the company is "very confident regarding current demand trends". The analyst also notes that HP Enterprise believes it is well positioned to absorb the current China tariffs and possibly offset the 25% rate of tariff if that comes to pass. Baruah adds that his bullish thesis on the stock may prove "conservative" if the "next-generation applications and Edge computing manifest".

12/11/18

WOLF

12/11/18INITIATIONTarget $14WOLFUnderperform

HP Enterprise initiated with an Underperform at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research analyst Steven Milunovich started HP Enterprise (HPE) with an Underperform rating and $14 price target, stating that in enterprise computing he prefers HP Inc (HPQ) and NetApp (NTAP). HP Enterprise's outlook is more dependent on execution than strategy at this point, Milunovich added.